Raised coop vs. groundlevel coop?

[Meem]

First question for all the BYC experts!

I'm a complete newbie, in the materials collection phase for coop/run build. I do not have chicks yet so I have all winter to plan/build.

- I live in North Carolina - long hot, humid summers, *fairly* mild winters.
- Am planning to build my own coop/run - cannot be over the top expensive, would like to reuse as much material as I can. We are having a large garage built right now and I am pulling scraps out of the garbage pile as fast as they throw them in! That being said, my hubby is a semi-reluctant partner in this as it is, if I present him with something that looks like it belongs in Fred Sanford's back yard I will be living WITH the chickens.
- With allowances for how bad I likely am at chicken math, I will not go over 10-12 birds....i WON'T.......
- Space is not an issue, 4 secluded, wooded acres. Along with that comes predators, I have had foxes, raccoons, possum and snakes in my backyard. The yard is fenced so fairly secure against dogs.


I know I will use deep litter in the coop, maybe in the run as well. Read of several people on here who throw dry leaves, dry grass clippings, etc on the floor of the coop/run in addition to the pine shavings - if I were a chicken I would love having all that nature to sift through! I like the look of a raised coop in the run but think I would prefer the litter on bare ground to help with decomposition. Is it much more difficult to secure a ground level coop? Was thinking of maybe modifying a shed if I can get my hands on one.

What are the pros/cons that I likely am overlooking with the two coop styles/positions?

Thank you and I'm excited to be here and learn from you-all!!

 

[Mimi Dana]

Would love to hear the answers. I too am new to having my own chicken. I did have them while growing up but my parents were in charge. I fed and played with them. I do not have any yet just in the getting prepared to have them stage. I live on just over an acre with a fenced in yard with a separate fenced in area at the very back of our property.

 

[nwfl]

We have both. We tend to do simple straight lines with shed roofs on one side. We have had all kinds of structures over the years but my favorite is my old layer house walk in, 16x8, dirt floor. Our silkies were happiest in 2 stilt houses with enclosed runs. Juveniles had long runs with no door housing right on the dirt. If we have the money we go for a larger lower construction for birds we don't handle often and larger walk in structures for birds we spend more time with like layers and brood houses. I don't like crawling, bending over or bumping my head. It is fun to conceptualize and have a new structure finished. But the one thing you do not want to skimp on is 1/2" hardware mesh! We have built some serious and not so serious no frills coops and just one weak area was a disaster. Go down into the dirt with your predator proofing if you want a dirt floor...you will be happy for years. And if you can possibly cover your entire run with a leak proof roof you will be glad you did.

 

[bigt447]

Definitely raised with door hinged at bottom for easy access to clean. Every easy to take contents to door; pickup with rubber gloves and add to a compost pile. Replace shavings or straw (which I prefer). The poop is very easy to rake up as it sticks to the straw. You may need a door on each end if your coop is as long as mine. Theses doors are more the size of windows. I sprinkle coop flooding with DE regularly to keep down oder. (DE is diatomateuos earth.)

 

[Mtn Laurel]

One good thing about a raised coop is that it gives the chickens a cool, shady spot to hide in on those sweltering days if they can get under the raised portion of the coop. The down side to that is that they can hide under there and any sick or injured bird is bound to go to the furthest, darkest corner. Never have any space available to the chickens that you can't easily access.

As you're in NC, try to find a spot that will be shady in the summer for your coop. Birds suffer far more with the heat than with the cold, especially where you're located.

If you want to do successful deep litter, don't get DE anywhere near the place. It will kill the all those leaf and litter eating, creepy crawly critters and such that deep litter needs to decompose and you'll be left with a stagnant mess. I use most anything organic I can find for litter and will even bag autumn leaves. I love the way the combination of material breaks down over time.

Check out the "coop" section here at BYC, you'll find ton's of designs and ideas and - yes - recycle everything you can get your hands on. Some of the best coops are made from leftovers! Good luck!

 

[bigt447]

I have no problem with the coop poop decomposing with all my garden compost with the little DE I sprinkle on it to keep down oder. My pen is close to my house and we never smell chickens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You need to be able to access all parts of your coop. Maintenance, retrieve an egg or maybe a chicken that does not want to be retrieved, cleaning, things like that. The larger the coop the harder that is unless you build a walk-in coop. Elevating a small coop can make access a little easier but a larger walk-in probably needs to be pretty low.

If you put a floor on the coop you have just created a great place for Mommy Mouse to raise a family unless it is high enough the chickens can get under there. If the chickens can get under there you need to be able to retrieve eggs and other things. The area underneath is a great place for feeders so you can keep the feed dry plus it provides shade for chickens.

If you elevate it make it high enough you can push a wheelbarrow up to the opening and rake the bedding into the wheelbarrow.

I like to go inside the coop to gather eggs. I’ve found a possum, a couple of dead chickens, and several snakes by going inside. If you have a small elevated coop and gather eggs form exterior nests hung off the coop you are probably not looking inside that much. Lots of people for very legitimate reasons prefer to gather eggs from outside. Personal preference factors into it.

The main thing with any coop is to keep it dry or fix it so it dries it really fast if it does get wet. An elevated coop may be easier to keep dry but my dirt floor walk-in coop stays dry. It depends on where you locate it (look at your rainwater drainage) and how you build it.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Ridgerunner covered a lot of the factors. Biggest being how large of a coop are you building? A walk in shed style may be your thing if you close birds in coop during days and keep food and water in the coop. If you secretly desire a huge flock then build big now. I don't do either of those things and am happy with culling down to a dozen to sixteen birds come winter. I prefer raised for easy maintenance of coop and birds and if your run wont have a solid roof then feed can stay dry hanging under the coop. Basically the only time I need to bend over for any maintenance is to take off the feeder to bring inside garage at night. Egg collection I like on exterior access boxes so better on a raised coop.

Your climate and desire to have less than a dozen birds to me says "I want a 6x4 Purina chicken hutch style coop".

http://www.mansfieldfeed.com/news-updates/build-your-own-chicken-coop-2014-02-3056
Bottom of page has plans in thumbnail. Click them and it expands to full page.

You don't need the skylight nor do you need the three nesting boxes. I'd move door from center to side and use a two nest exterior box that can fit at same level of the door. All still in front but rearranged to fit. It's best to not have the nests too high so chickens wont roost in them. So a few changes and making it 6x4 and you'd be set for up to ten birds.

 

[Blooie]

To raise or not to raise..that is the question!

And it's one that really only you can answer. Write down the pros and cons of each, take into account how much time you have to work out there, your physical condition (bad backs, knees or hips don't make it fun to crouch to grab an egg laid under the coop or rake out from underneath!) and your location. In damp areas with heavy rainfall, a raised coop will save you a lot of grief and keep your chickens drier, and therefore healthier, and drier, than they would be in a coop where the floor is constantly wet. A raised coop is generally (and I did say GENERALLY, not always) smaller in footprint than a ground level coop can be made, especially once you add nest boxes, roosts, and food or water if you don't keep those in the run.

I'm old. So I like having my coop at ground level. I love how you put that about not wanting to present him with something that looks like it came out of Fred Sanford's back yard. Do you know how hard it is to get iced tea off a computer screen when you spit it out? Anyway, I digress. We debated for a long time between above and on the ground, but I knew that at our ages something we could walk into while standing upright was the best way for us to go. I think we did a pretty good job on the coop, but the run looked a little funny. I didn't like that because we live in town and our setup is visible from the street on both the east and north sides. So we invested a little extra money in some white vinyl lattice. Spruced it right up!


Looking from the west before.....



And after.....


And looking from the north before.....


And after.

I'm a firm believer that no matter what your setup looks like when you get it built, just a couple of little touches elevate it to looking kinda cute. That's why I love to see flowerboxes, cute paint jobs, and rustic signs on the coops people build. It's fun, and they look so clean and inviting! Good luck with your build - pictures you might share are always fun to look at as you go and when you get finished! And welcome to BYC!!

 

[Newchikmom]

I'm just starting out myself as well. I will be using an old storage shed that is on an old boat ramp. I'm going to have a run off of it. I'm going to use the 5 gallon bucket idea for my nesting boxes. Found several ideas for water just not sure which I'm going with yet, since I do live in Missouri and the winters can get cold.